Buying from India or US?

[arnprasad]

Hi..I am going to US tommorrow for couple of days and want to buy the Pioneer VSX 1020K receiver which is now down to 360 dollars. I have the following inputs right now.,

1) Philips DVD player - can output NTSC
2) Tata sky HD - believe only outputs to PAL??
3) WII from UK - Only outputs to PAL??
4) Laptop from UK with HDMI and BLu ray player - this should output to NTSC.

I was googling to find out if PAL vs NTSC has any issues in terms of input to the receiver as it may recognise only NTSC inputs...I dont care about the output since my Samsung LCD is mutli system and will take NTSC.

For people who have bought receivers from US..pls confirm if your receiver receives any PAL inputs.

Apart from the Voltage converter issue let me know if you are facing any other issue.

Although 360 dollars is peanuts for such an award winning receiver, it will be a useless box if it doesnt work in India..please help me out as I am leaving tomorrow evening and want to order it over Amazon as they take indian credit cards.

 

[pp91487]

I'm a new member to this forum. Found very valuable information here. Getting my Onkyo TX-SR608 from US this week for $379 (~INR 17K) from TigerDirect.com. That's the only shopping planned in this trip so hope to clear customs through green channel.

 

[NetFreak]

Yes, there should not be any issue with customs.

What I usually do is:

1. Carry original invoice
2. Declare it at Red Channel and move on after couple of minutes

It usually saves you from lines at green channel too

 

[GeorgeO]

I wouldnt worry if I were you w.r.t customs. If you get lucky, another flight will also land around the same time and you wil be waved through quickly-thats what happened to me last week.

 

[askids]

I'm a new member to this forum. Found very valuable information here. Getting my Onkyo TX-SR608 from US this week for $379 (~INR 17K) from TigerDirect.com. That's the only shopping planned in this trip so hope to clear customs through green channel.

Damn you lucky guy!!! Can you atleast get a harmony for me hyeah:

askids

 

[arnprasad]

I'm a new member to this forum. Found very valuable information here. Getting my Onkyo TX-SR608 from US this week for $379 (~INR 17K) from TigerDirect.com. That's the only shopping planned in this trip so hope to clear customs through green channel.

I used to travel almost on a monthly basis abroad....although the customs limit is 25K, it is 25K as in India..which means these customs folks are smart enough to actually search the item you bought on google for an indian price and can harass you as most items are twice the value in INdia. For someting costing 17K you should be fine..but anything above 20K..they will try and harass you to get some money..just be firm if they ask for any money and if they threaten to go to google..its all bluff...

dont pay anything to them as the moment they feel you are willing to compromise they will start demanding.

Only good thing about our customs folks is that they are pretty cheap when it comes to bargaining and hence they can let you go with small bribes when you get stuff more than 25K.:yahoo:

 

[alsekar]

Friends,
Lot of good info here. I am travelling to US too with my wife and daughter and hope to purchase AV receiver Denon AVR 2311 and a media server Dune Base 3.0 with 1TB HDD. The quotes i got in chennai was Rs. 70,000/= and 27,000 respy.,
Whereas, in US i should probably get it for 800usd and 300 usd.
What do you guys think? Is the choice ok? Has anybody used Denon AVR 2311, if so, advice/ give feedback pl.
Would you advice buying full HD projector 1080p DLP from india or from US?
Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

[pp91487]

Yes, there should not be any issue with customs.

What I usually do is:

1. Carry original invoice
2. Declare it at Red Channel and move on after couple of minutes

It usually saves you from lines at green channel too

NetFreak, that's a a good advise to think over. I only hope not to get in "aa bail muze maar" situation

I wouldnt worry if I were you w.r.t customs. If you get lucky, another flight will also land around the same time and you wil be waved through quickly-thats what happened to me last week.

I have gotten away like that few times. however most times I carried extra check in bag with my hopped stuff in it so it did not visually appeal the customs folks.. this time I guess the Onkyo packing would be too big to fit in a bag and I don't want to strip it off packing for safety. Is it good idea to check it in separately as fragile item? I have two bags allowed and have only one other bag that has my other stuff like clothes etc.

Damn you lucky guy!!! Can you atleast get a harmony for me hyeah:

askids

Askids: LoL

I used to travel almost on a monthly basis abroad....although the customs limit is 25K, it is 25K as in India..which means these customs folks are smart enough to actually search the item you bought on google for an indian price and can harass you as most items are twice the value in INdia. For someting costing 17K you should be fine..but anything above 20K..they will try and harass you to get some money..just be firm if they ask for any money and if they threaten to go to google..its all bluff...

dont pay anything to them as the moment they feel you are willing to compromise they will start demanding.

Only good thing about our customs folks is that they are pretty cheap when it comes to bargaining and hence they can let you go with small bribes when you get stuff more than 25K.:yahoo:

That's another valuable info.. thanks. So should I just walk green or be proactive to declare? The stuff is 17k in $ terms but priced at 48k in India. of course google won't tell them price unless they deep dive in any forums/blogs..

 

[NetFreak]

this time I guess the Onkyo packing would be too big to fit in a bag and I don't want to strip it off packing for safety. Is it good idea to check it in separately as fragile item? I have two bags allowed and have only one other bag that has my other stuff like clothes etc.

I bought a large "single use" cheap suitcase from Chinese flea market for carrying my receiver.

Receiver was shipped by Amazon and it had a carton over already packed receiver. Discarded Amazon carton and was able to fit receiver's carton in suitcase. Nothing else could fit in that bag. Filled in few socks etc around carton to protect it from bumps / kicks / weight of other luggage.

 

[pp91487]

I bought a large "single use" cheap suitcase from Chinese flea market for carrying my receiver.

Receiver was shipped by Amazon and it had a carton over already packed receiver. Discarded Amazon carton and was able to fit receiver's carton in suitcase. Nothing else could fit in that bag. Filled in few socks etc around carton to protect it from bumps / kicks / weight of other luggage.

thats a good suggestion, thanks.. not sure if I can find cheapo bag in Boston downtown but I have few days to go after I receive the AVR day after tomorrow so that I can get an idea on size etc. I hope the site I purchased it from wraps it nicely in another carton similar to what Amazon did for you. No harm in spending few dollars on bag for such a pricey AVR.

 

[NetFreak]

Not sure about Boston, but I guess it would have a ChinaTown for sure

 

[pp91487]

Not sure about Boston, but I guess it would have a ChinaTown for sure

yes, coincidently it is very near to my workplace :clapping:. will pay visit this weekend.

 

[pratikdhawan]

Hi..I am going to US tommorrow for couple of days and want to buy the Pioneer VSX 1020K receiver which is now down to 360 dollars. I have the following inputs right now.,

1) Philips DVD player - can output NTSC
2) Tata sky HD - believe only outputs to PAL??
3) WII from UK - Only outputs to PAL??
4) Laptop from UK with HDMI and BLu ray player - this should output to NTSC.

I was googling to find out if PAL vs NTSC has any issues in terms of input to the receiver as it may recognise only NTSC inputs...I dont care about the output since my Samsung LCD is mutli system and will take NTSC.

For people who have bought receivers from US..pls confirm if your receiver receives any PAL inputs.

Apart from the Voltage converter issue let me know if you are facing any other issue.

Although 360 dollars is peanuts for such an award winning receiver, it will be a useless box if it doesnt work in India..please help me out as I am leaving tomorrow evening and want to order it over Amazon as they take indian credit cards.

_____________________________________________________
Hey I am also leaving for USA in couple days n planning a very similar purchase.... so just wondering if u made the purchase and if its working fine? I live in London so.... have most products frm uk... But wll be using it in India... so stuck with this NTSE n PAL

 

[pratikdhawan]

Hey... I am very new here n not a very tech pro when it comes to av..... I am traveling USA in 2 days time and planing to buy Pioneer VSX 1020 or 1120. So I am just wondering if I'll be able to use it with Indian dvd players and Indian tvs.... as I guess there is some format difference... like NTSE in US and Pal in India.

I have already checked the voltage difference.... I am ok to get the converter to solve that but still can't find anything specific about NTSE n Pal and region code diff..... please guide )

Cheers

 

[alsekar]

Friends,
Lot of good info here. I am travelling to US too with my wife and daughter and hope to purchase AV receiver Denon AVR 2311 and a media server Dune Base 3.0 with 1TB HDD. The quotes i got in chennai was Rs. 70,000/= and 27,000 respy.,
Whereas, in US i should probably get it for 800usd and 300 usd.
What do you guys think? Is the choice ok? Has anybody used Denon AVR 2311, if so, advice/ give feedback pl.
Would you advice buying full HD projector 1080p DLP from india or from US?
Thanks in advance for your advice.

Friends, respond pl.

 

[sanjay0864]

Hey... I am very new here n not a very tech pro when it comes to av..... I am traveling USA in 2 days time and planing to buy Pioneer VSX 1020 or 1120. So I am just wondering if I'll be able to use it with Indian dvd players and Indian tvs.... as I guess there is some format difference... like NTSE in US and Pal in India.

I have already checked the voltage difference.... I am ok to get the converter to solve that but still can't find anything specific about NTSE n Pal and region code diff..... please guide )

Cheers

Over the last twenty years I have used seven diffferent AV Receivers from the US and never had a single problem in using them in India. In short, other than the voltage issue, you have nothing to worry about.

PS: The tuner (radio) of some US A/V receivers may not function properly in India. This is because of the frequencies used in India and the US. The problem will only be there if the a/v receiver does not have the ability to set frequencies at .10 intervals.

 

[arnprasad]

Hey... I am very new here n not a very tech pro when it comes to av..... I am traveling USA in 2 days time and planing to buy Pioneer VSX 1020 or 1120. So I am just wondering if I'll be able to use it with Indian dvd players and Indian tvs.... as I guess there is some format difference... like NTSE in US and Pal in India.

I have already checked the voltage difference.... I am ok to get the converter to solve that but still can't find anything specific about NTSE n Pal and region code diff..... please guide )

Cheers

i will shop for a converter tday and let yu know if i have any issues. als pls note the fllwing:

1 DTH in india i believe output to pal. officially pineer have tld me it wont take pal.i will confirm later tday
2.dvd players ouput t any format..s nt a worry
3. not sur abt gaming consoles...

since my dth and wii utput t pal i will let u know later tday

some forum members have hwever recmmend onkyo or denn bcoz of their service in india..u may want to consider that since 608 costs same as 1020

 

[pp91487]

Finally I reached India with my Onkyo SR608 purchased in US. My experience:
a. Borrowed a big suitcase from a friend in the US and put my AVR in it in factory packing [was very hard for me not to open it before I reached India today ]
b.Checked in the bag with AVR - PUT ONLY TSA APPROVED lock on the bag. I had two stop overs btw.
c. I collected the bag from the belt at India airport. Noticed that two wheels of the bag were missing. No other signs of exterior damage to the bag. The lock was intact. No chalk marks on the bag by customs [surprisingly].
d. Passed through green channel. Passed the customs slip to the officer at the gate. He didn't even bother to look back. No worries there fortunately. Came home straight.
e. Opened the bag - there was a printed note in it by TSA that my bag was opened for security check. They had locked back the bag so USE ONLY TSA APPROVED lock.
f. Opened the carton [tape on the carton was in place when I opened]. Interestingly, found another same note inside the carton that it too was opened and checked by TSA.
e. The AVR unit was intact and packed back in factory condition in thermacole with tape on carton sealed back. no exterior damage to the unit.
f. I am yet to know about interior damage, if any [have yet to get a voltage converter]. But I hope it would be alright because the TSA folks had packed back the unit nicely.
So here it is guys for those who want to get AVRs from US.

Next - read out the manual overnight [jet lag and all]
- will get a transformer today [some valuable info at http://www.hifivision.com/av-lounge...110v-step-down-transformer-av-receivers.html]
- quest for speakers starts [again...loads of info on forum. enough for one to get totally lost]
I hope I can test the unit with my tv speakers or get some cheapo stuff to play basic stuff till I get my hands on some hifi mouths. planning to connect Wii, PS3, TataSky to LG 1080i 37" LCD. lets see how it goes.

 

[GeorgeO]

Surprised that there were no chalk marks-or maybe the guys manning the XRay machines have started recognising AVRs now! I mentioned in my earlier post that the customs guys might just wave you through, looks like that's what happened.

 

[arnprasad]

Finally I reached India with my Onkyo SR608 purchased in US. My experience:
a. Borrowed a big suitcase from a friend in the US and put my AVR in it in factory packing [was very hard for me not to open it before I reached India today ]
b.Checked in the bag with AVR - PUT ONLY TSA APPROVED lock on the bag. I had two stop overs btw.
c. I collected the bag from the belt at India airport. Noticed that two wheels of the bag were missing. No other signs of exterior damage to the bag. The lock was intact. No chalk marks on the bag by customs [surprisingly].
d. Passed through green channel. Passed the customs slip to the officer at the gate. He didn't even bother to look back. No worries there fortunately. Came home straight.
e. Opened the bag - there was a printed note in it by TSA that my bag was opened for security check. They had locked back the bag so USE ONLY TSA APPROVED lock.
f. Opened the carton [tape on the carton was in place when I opened]. Interestingly, found another same note inside the carton that it too was opened and checked by TSA.
e. The AVR unit was intact and packed back in factory condition in thermacole with tape on carton sealed back. no exterior damage to the unit.
f. I am yet to know about interior damage, if any [have yet to get a voltage converter]. But I hope it would be alright because the TSA folks had packed back the unit nicely.
So here it is guys for those who want to get AVRs from US.

Next - read out the manual overnight [jet lag and all]
- will get a transformer today [some valuable info at http://www.hifivision.com/av-lounge...110v-step-down-transformer-av-receivers.html]
- quest for speakers starts [again...loads of info on forum. enough for one to get totally lost]
I hope I can test the unit with my tv speakers or get some cheapo stuff to play basic stuff till I get my hands on some hifi mouths. planning to connect Wii, PS3, TataSky to LG 1080i 37" LCD. lets see how it goes.

My experience was very similar. Bought my Pioneer VSX 1020 last wednesday..had a chalk mark but still no one stopped me.

bought transformer for 2400.

Things connected to the Receiver are:

(1) Tata sky HD - outputs to PAL only??
(2) Hacked UK Wii - outputs to PAL
(3) Hacked UK DVD Player - multi output but I guess default is PAL
(4) I Pod.

Although Pioneer in their official clarification mail said its NTSC only, it seems to accept any thing.

Hooked it up to my existing Yamaha Home theater Sats...realised Left and Right speakers were too tiny...so replaced them with a 15 year old Sony CD Mini system Speakers!!! which proves bigger is better when it comes to speakers.

Again dont notice any appreciable gain from Yamaha receiver...partly because I dont use any of the new features - 3D, internet radio, same old speakers...etc

folks at my house do feel that picture quality has improved a bit...partly becoz I also bought component cables for my Wii in the same trip and Tata Sky HD anyways makes all channels look good.

Will try and get Energy Take Classic in my next visit and hopefully it will make it sound better.